Reader: Democrats need new leaders

Democrats need new leaders

Democratic leadership, both local and national, has been on my mind a lot lately. You could have added my name to the list of folks who did not want to see Nancy Pelosi leading the House majority.

But, with the crisis going on in Washington, it is important to have a leader who has been battle tested and ready to tackle getting our country back on track straight out of the gate.

I would, however, like to see some younger faces going forward. Many of our leaders in Congress are aging. Supreme Court justices serve life terms. With the recent appointment of Judge Kavanaugh, I wish there were term limits for them.

In the next two years, Pelosi needs to start mentoring and preparing younger hopefuls who can carry the mantle after she departs. All of our elected officials need to always be on the lookout for potential future leaders and take them under their wing now.

I am thrilled to see the number of women and diversity of the incoming representatives starting in January. I also wish there were more in Congress like Sen. Chris Coons who has always shows a willingness to reach across the aisle. As a Delawarean I am very proud of him.

—Ruth Kelly, Wilmington

Farewell to a great veteran

If we live long enough, we may be lucky enough to meet and be friends with many great people.

I have been on this earth for more than 69 years and am lucky enough to know quite a few really great people. It is in writing this I share my loss of one of those great people.

The person I am honoring by writing this is one of the greatest men I have ever met. He was not only a man of honor, a great supporter of the common man, an exceptional teacher, a bronze star-awarded Vietnam War veteran, a man who worked tirelessly for our senator and supporter of all: another great man, Joe Biden.

It was through my friendship with Tom Lewis that I and the Chapter 83 Vietnam Veterans of America were able, with the support of then-Sen. Biden, to start our program to talk to local high schools and colleges, including the cadets at West Point, about the experience of the Vietnam War on young Americans. This coming year, 2019, will be the 35th year of our program, called V.V.E.T.S.

My only regret in announcing this anniversary is that a great man, supporter and participant in the program will not be with us to celebrate with us. May God bless you, Thomas G. Lewis, III.

—Richard Lovekin, North East, Maryland

Letter wrong about socialism, Nazis

A confused and confusing letter on Nazis, comparing them to the left, appeared in your paper Tuesday. Actually, it was the left that opposed the Nazis most strongly.

For example, the French Resistance was composed of Communists, Socialists, Popular Front democrats, and maverick patriots like DeGaulle. Today in the USA, it's Democrats and constitutional Republicans opposing Trump, who admires dictators like Putin, Duterte, Kim Jong Un, and the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, a brazen murderer
of journalists.

When it comes to putting out false facts and calling people names, no one can match Trump. In short, the letter you published has it all upside-down and backward.

I used to teach a college course on Western civilization, including 20th century Europe. Socialism had many different roots - social reform of the conditions described by Dickens, idealism captured in Blake's hymn - "to build Jerusalem in England's green and
pleasant land."

Hitler was not a fan of socialism. He railed against it in his speeches. You can check it out.

Antifa is a shadowy group. I know little about it, other than they have street fights with neo-Nazi groups. I know that Heather Heyer was run over in Charlottesville by a young right-wing extremist.

Mitch McConnell had a meal interrupted by protesters. These incidents are not equivalent, but Fox News and the letter-writer try to make them so.

—Bret Raushenbush, Newark

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